Performance art in Bowral — Biota Restaurant

On Easter Saturday we decided to be entertained by driving 170 kms to eat at Biota. It was worth the trip.

Biota is a complete dining experience with ambience, interesting staff and inventive delicious food.

First the setting.  Bowral is the archetypical Australian Country Town.  After all it is the home town of Don Bradman.

First the supporting acts. Biota has its own kitchen garden.

Then there are the surroundings.

We were greeted with a pre-teaser or amuse bouche – or something to please the mouth. We were given pomegranate seeds with eucalyptus based foam served in a beaker.

This was followed with Biota’s own sourdough bread and cultured butter.

Entrees were mackerel, cured scallop broth, with cucumber with green tea and dill seeds

and another of roasted cereals, parsnip root,  a perfectly cooked soft egg topped with slices of duck pressed in juniper sugar.

Then the mains.  How to describe the crackling pigs jowl, brocconlini, amaranth cooked with blackened onions and licorice?  Decadent comes to mind.

The lamb rump in olive caramel, baked carrots, oat milk eggplant and garlic ash was perfectly cooked and presented.

As if this was not enough we ended with desserts.

Roast coconut milk, green tea cake, pineapple, fresh and dried fennel pollen simply does not describe this creation of  green moss with a sprinkling of snow and a mound of earth or is it a thatched barn?

The infusion of eucalyptus, blood plums, rhubarb, hibiscus preserve and native lime losses something when we call it a fruit salad.  Like all the dishes there were extra ingredients and elements of surprise.  The fruit salad had something that looked a little like sago but was the superfood chia and bits of perfectly cubed cucumber.

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